“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” reclaimed the top spot at the U.S. box office Thursday with an additional $10.1 million, bringing the MGM-Warner Bros. pic’s worldwide cume to a mountainous $562.8 million.

The first installment in Peter Jackson’s fantasy-adventure trilogy has a strong chance of topping the domestic box office chart for a third straight weekend as auds look to escape a deluge of powerful snow storms nationwide. “The Hobbit,” playing at 4,100 locations, has earned $189.7 million entering the pre-New Year’s holiday frame.

After a strong Christmas launch, Universal’s “Les Miserables” came in second Thursday with a stately $9.1 million. The generally well-received “Les Mis,” like “The Hobbit,” earned an ‘A’ CinemaScore from exit polls and has already cumed $39.4 million in three days.

“Django Unchained,” released by the Weinstein Co., is also rounding up solid biz, finishing third in Thursday grosses. After opening Christmas day, the R-rated spaghetti Western pastiche from Quentin Tarantino earned an additional $8.3 million yesterday for a domestic tally of $33.3 million. “Django,” starring Jaimie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio and Christoph Waltz, expands overseas on Jan. 16.